


Descent into the Dark Madness

by MayroNumbaWun (orphan_account)



Category: Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003) - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-11
Updated: 2020-09-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:14:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25834075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/MayroNumbaWun
Summary: Bariss Offee - healer, soldier, padawan, master. She is all these things, but will she stay in her position of honor, or crumble into nothing?
Relationships: Barriss Offee & Luminara Unduli, Obi-Wan Kenobi/Luminara Unduli, Shaak Ti & Luminara Unduli
Comments: 18
Kudos: 12





	1. Coruscant 13:9:22, Late Evening

The padawan Barriss Offee was practicing floating meditation in her quarters on the CR90 Corvette. She was clearing her mind of the things she had seen on Drongar. How Phow Ji wallowed in blood, yet was painted as a hero. How though 2 million tons of bota had been recovered from the planet, there was no way to grow it back. Thinking about bota brought Barriss back to the more positive aspects of her journey. How she struggled with and defeated an addiction that might have proven crippling. Still, the whole affair continued to reek of futility in hindsight. But before she could trouble herself even more, she heard a knock on her door.  


“Come in.” The padawan spoke, lightly descending to the ground. The door opened, and the Selkath engineer watched Barriss pick herself up off the ground.  
“The ship is about to exit hyperspace. General Unduli says you like to watch the universe around you retake its shape?” The engineer informed her. Barriss got onto her feet and smiled.  
“Master Luminara sure does know me… don’t wait for me, Kalgit, I’ll be right there.” Barriss said.  


As Kalgit walked down the hallway towards the bridge of the ship, Barriss followed him. Though she’d been it for five hours now, she was still stunned by how different the interior of the Corvette was from the dingy, fungal atmosphere of Drongar. The shiny white walls, its climate-controlled rooms, the air fresheners hidden in the vents… indeed, this ship was a Drongar detox of sorts.  


Now, Barriss was standing on the bridge of the corvette, watching as reality reformed in front of her very eyes. This was a very special sight to her, as it is what she remembers from leaving slavery on Taris with her brother and father – it’s all she remembers, in fact, as she was only five years old at the time. But still, she is oftentimes left frightened when she thinks of what her life might have been if she had stayed on Taris. Or even if she had stayed on Mirial, for that matter. Because of this, she saw Master Luminara Unduli as a mother of sorts.  


The ship touched down on the Jedi Temple landing pad. Barriss could sense that her master was standing outside. She walked outside to meet with Luminara, engineers following her as they went on their separate ways to check on the ship and refuel it before their next calling out.  


“Did you leave something on the ship?” Luminara asked, looking at the blank space on her student’s belt.  
“No…” Barriss said, knowing what Master Luminara was referring to. Her lightsaber had been destroyed on Drongar.  
“Where is your saber?” The Master asked, growing slightly disappointed.  
“It… got destroyed…” Barriss replied, hanging down her head.  
“I understand, but we do have an appointment with the Jedi Council. I might be able to convince Masters Kenobi and Shaak Ti to cut you some slack on account of their friendship with me, but you won’t be so lucky with the other masters.” Luminara said, trying to hide the surprise she had for her student.  
“But doesn’t Master Kenobi say that there’s no such thing as luck?” Barriss replied, trying to alleviate the situation.  
“Indeed, he does, but that doesn’t make him correct. Now come, we must get going. It is a most important manner.” Luminara said before walking back into the temple with her student. Barriss could sense that her master was hiding something from her. Perhaps she was just happy to see Kenobi and Shaak Ti again. The two walked briskly until finally arriving at the high council chambers.  
“Master, you first.” Barriss said, gesturing for the door.  
“I am neither a council member… nor a future knight.” Luminara replied, smiling as she stood still. Barriss was shocked, her eyes screamed of elation and surprise. Her feelings were like a tidal wave in the force bond between Barriss and Luminara. The door opened, and the padawan walked in.  


Barriss looked around in the dark room. All she could see were a few lights shining on a point in the center. She was surrounded by hooded figures, members of the Jedi High Council. Then, all their lightsabers ignited simultaneously.  


“Step forward, padawan.” Yoda said as Padawan Offee removed her hood and kneeled in front of the Jedi Grand Master.  
“Barriss Offee. By the right of the council. By the will of the force. Dub thee, I do. Jedi… Knight of the Republic.” Yoda said, hovering his lightsaber over Barriss’ left shoulder, then right, then the top of her head, before cutting open a box.  
“Open it, you must. The pride of your people, its contents are.” Yoda said as Knight Offee rose. The knight opened the box, and found two bronze forearm braces studded with emeralds. She was in awe as to how the Jedi managed to even get this from a separatist planet, but had other things to focus on. She put on the forearm braces, replaced her hood, and walked out to meet with Master Luminara.  
“Master, why didn’t you tell me they were going to do this!?” Barriss asked, ecstatic. Luminara looked at her former student.  
“If I had informed you that Drongar was your trial, you wouldn’t have passed it…” The Mirialan Master replied, nodding.  
“It is a shame you weren’t able to see it though, and that I am without a lightsaber.” Barriss said to Master Luminara, looking down. Luminara placed her hand on her former student’s shoulder.  
“Worry not, my friend, for both of those situations are to be rectified shortly.” Luminara replied before taking Barriss’ hand to go back out to the hangar.  
“Master, what do you mean?” Barriss probed. She was determined to know all of Luminara’s surprises.  
“What I mean is that we are going to Ilum. That is why I ordered that ship to stay here.” Luminara replied as she let go of Barriss’ hand.


	2. Ilum 13:9:23 Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barriss finds the crystal that goes in her new lightsaber.

Barriss opened her eyes and saw that Master Luminara had already woken up. She noticed that there was something under where she had rested her cloak. There was also a note on top of the piece of fur. Barriss picked it up and read it.  
“Knight Offee,  
Choose your components from this box and come outside with them. When you meet me on the surface, your training will be truly complete.  
-Old Luna”  


The Jedi Knight smiled and shook her head at the nickname Luminara had come up with for herself. She put on her cloak and started choosing lightsaber pieces. As usual, the crystal was not there, as a Jedi doesn’t choose their Kyber crystal, but the crystal chooses them. She selected her components, put them in a bag, and walked off the ship to meet with her former master.  


Luminara was standing just outside the corvette, waiting patiently for her former apprentice. When she saw Barriss with her bag, she nodded in acknowledgement.  


“Today is an important day for you, Barriss Offee…. let’s try not to delay it.” Luminara said in a joking manner.  
“Sorry, master. I thought the trip would be longer, so I’d sleep later.” Barriss replied, looking the master in the eyes.  


Luminara shook her head before walking towards the entrance of the temple. Barriss was following her, trying to see where she would find her lightsaber’s crystal. The two walked for what seemed to be hours through the cold. Luckily, Barriss hardly felt a thing due to the fabric of her cloak. It was made from the fur of a Mirialan Cerberus Barriss had killed when she was eight years old. Though it was in defense of her brother, the girl was very much moved by fear and attachment at the time. Hopefully, she’s overcome those feelings by now…  


Finally, the two Jedi arrived at the crystal cave’s gate. Barriss could tell that the force was talking to her here, but she couldn’t hear what exactly it was saying. The knight could only figure that it was pointing her to her lightsaber crystal. They stepped inside, and Barriss started scanning the area for anything that was glowing. Eventually, they came upon a fork in the road. Luminara was the first to stop.  


“I will keep going straight. That’s where you will meet me once you’ve found your crystal.” The master said. Barriss nodded in affirmation before going down the left path.  


As she walked, she continued scouring the area. But something felt off about this place. Though Ilum was a Jedi world, there was a very strong dark presence. Unfortunately, the Mirialan knight had not a saber with which to defend herself. She could only hope the dark presence only came off apparitions whose bodies had withered away or been destroyed thousands of years ago.  


Then, she saw a curved black lightsaber on the floor. She bent down to pick it up, but was suddenly stopped.  


“That’s mine, Jedi fool!” Barriss had been barked at by… her own voice…? Sensing danger, she picked up the saber to defend herself.  
“Who are you!?” The knight asked, taking a look at the apparition who had a saber identical to the one she had picked up.  
“I’m you, but stronger. I’m you, but fearless. I am your dark side, and my reign is inevitable!” The apparition gave a psychotic smile before igniting her red lightsaber.  
“I will not fight that which is not real!” Barriss shouted fearfully.  
“I’m real, and I am powerful. If you will not join me, then I will devour you!” The apparition moved her saber in front of her face, grinning the whole time. Barriss lifted the one she had found over her head and dropped it down as she ignited it. Then, she moved into a Form III stance.  
“If you will not fight me, then why do you activate your weapon?” The apparition taunted.  
“No matter, your pathetic Jedi self shall die with an ignited saber!” The apparition said before charging at Barriss. The knight deflected her first blow and sent her hurling against the wall of the corridor.  
“You may be real, but you have no power!” Barriss shouted, her voice quivering as she moved over to the fallen dark ghost.  
“You must be coocoo crazy… you want power? I’ll show you power!” The apparition said as she got up and clipped her lightsaber on her side.  
“Now remember, pain is the first lesson of a Sith!” Lightning coursed from the apparition’s hands as she said that. The surprise caused Barriss to drop her lightsaber, losing her only chance to deflect the dark spirit’s lightning.  


Barriss writhed on the floor as she was covered in lightning. Though she would have much preferred to bathe in the rivers of Mustafar than to endure a single second more of this dark side torture, she carried on and crawled towards her lightsaber. Eventually, she picked it up and ignited it to deflect the lightning. Now, it felt as if she was resisting the force of an entire planet barreling at her at hyperspeed as she lifted herself up and reflected the lightning at the dark apparition.  


Realizing this would not give her the chance to be stricken down by the enraged Jedi Knight, the dark apparition stopped the lightning and ignited her lightsaber. Then, she charged Barriss once again. This time, however, the Jedi was too tired to push her back, so they locked blades.  


“If only you knew the terrible things you will do if you continue to walk the Jedi path. The countless lives you will take – the friends you will betray!” The apparition taunted Barriss about the future she had foreseen.  
“I don’t want to hear any more of your ramblings, you dark spirit!” Barriss replied as she tried to push her saber down to the apparition’s hands. She strained as the apparition resisted… and then it slipped. She looked to see two hands and a lightsaber on the floor.  


Fairly disgusted at the sight of her own severed hands, the thought of mercy didn’t even cross her mind as she moved her lightsaber right through the apparition’s heart. The dark apparition gave one last smile and spoke out “You… have not… truly… won…” as she disintegrated.  


In spite of the torments she had endured at the hand of her own dark shadow, the only affliction Barriss had was being drenched in sweat. Then, she noticed something shining in the middle of the cloud of dust created by her dark side’s ‘death.’ It was her crystal on the floor!  


“Here we go!” Barriss said, smiling as she picked up the crystal and left the dark cave to meet with Master Luminara in the center.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made a few Wario Apparition/Super Mario 64 (DO NOT RESEARCH) references.
> 
> Well, actually, just two.
> 
> If you pick them up, you deserve... a ghoul medal...


	3. Ilum 13:9:23 Afternoon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barriss constructs a new lightsaber on Ilum in this retelling of Clone Wars Chapter 14.

Barriss met up with her former master in the center of the Ilum temple. Luminara could sense that the young woman was troubled, and knew exactly why.  
“I do believe you’ve learned a valuable lesson about the Dark Side, haven’t you?” Luminara asked, smugly.  
“Well, Master Yoda has said that the future is always in motion, hasn’t he?” Barriss replied, confused.  
“Yes, and visions are rarely to be trusted… but beyond that, I assume you’ve learned the nature of the fast and initially cheap satisfaction the Dark Side gives you. It always leaves you worse off, unless you take the initiative to learn from it.” Luminara said to the Jedi Knight, stroking her chin and smiling. She allowed Barriss to think about her words before handing her the satchel. Barriss took the bag of lightsaber components and opened it. She nodded that she was ready to construct her saber.  
“The crystal is the heart of the blade; the heart is the crystal of the Jedi.” Luminara said first, Barriss’ crystal floating on top of her hand.  
“The Jedi is the crystal of the Force; the Force is the blade of the heart.” Barriss moved the igniters to surround her kyber crystal as the Jedi master spoke this second stanza.  
“All are intertwined; the crystal, the blade, the Jedi - you are one.” Luminara said as her final stanza as Barriss completed her lightsaber’s construction. 

“You have taught me well, Master Luminara.” Barriss said as she ignited the lightsaber and moved it to both sides in front of her.  
“Thank you, now that your training is complete, we should be leaving soon. I believe you’d like to inform Knight Skywalker of your promotion?” Luminara said, smiling. But something felt… off… about their surroundings. Then, she concluded that somehow someone had gotten into the temple. And they were coming for her and Barriss. A green blade burst out of her saber.  
“Something trespasses on sacred ground. The temple is breached!” The Mirialan master said, tuning her senses to find the source of this danger. She began walking up the temple’s ramp, Knight Offee following closely behind her, also searching for the danger. She could sense that it was near, but was it even real?  
“I sense a presence… yet see nothing.” Barriss said, afraid that her taking the ‘easy’ path might have released something that has doomed them both. Luminara realized that she was right in front of the droid.  
“They are here.” The Mirialan Master said before slicing directly through the chameleon droid, which revealed itself after being cut in half.  
Barriss went behind the master and turned around so their backs were facing and cut through a chameleon droid she had sensed. Just then, five more had revealed themselves and began firing on the Jedi. The two were able to deflect their blaster bolts perfectly. Barriss took out the first droid as she began advancing on its two partners. Luminara took down the next two in one swipe. Realizing that there was no way to cut them down that wouldn’t leave her back exposed, Barriss crashed the two chameleon droids against each other to the side, exploding them.  
“Master, we need to get out of here before this temple collapses!” Barriss said as she started walking down the ramp. Luminara grabbed the Jedi knight’s arm and shook her head.  
“We’re staying. This temple survived Revan; it’s not going to fall to droids!” Luminara replied as she let go of the young woman and jumped at two more chameleon droids laying bombs on the roof.

Barriss shook her head and moved some bombs onto a chameleon droid as it revealed itself, destroying the droid. More began firing and she deflected their bolts as she jumped up to them. Now, she and Master Luminara were hunting the droids to try and save the temple.  
As the two separated, they encountered more droids. They cut through every droid they encountered with ease, and Barriss even managed to destroy one from the inside completely with the force. Still, their efforts were not enough to stop all the droids. As Barriss jumped up, she cut through the heads of two chameleon droids. Luminara continued to destroy them with their own bombs. Eventually, the two were right next to each other yet again. And then, the first uncontrolled explosion. And then another. And then it sounded as if a volcano was erupting, hundreds of bombs detonating as the two Jedi jumped down to the surface.  
The Mirialans hardly had time to catch their breath as a massive boulder was falling on top of them. Tapping into their master/apprentice force bond, Barriss and Luminara got out of the way at nigh impossible speeds. Then, Barriss strained herself, using the force to hold up more rocks. And then, it all got light. She looked down and saw her former master meditating on the ground. She followed suit.  
With the cave now being held up by Barriss, Luminara could use her force bond with an old friend. Eventually, she saw Shaak Ti’s image in her mind.  
“Hello, old friend.” Luminara said to the Togruta master.  
“Luna? I thought you were on Ilum with Barriss.” Shaak Ti responded, very much surprised to hear her friend’s voice.  
“I am physically, but I’ve used our bond to bring a part of my essence in the force here to you.” Luminara replied, nodding as her force essence stood up.  
“I see, what do you need?” Shaak Ti asked, hoping Luminara wasn’t in danger.  
“I need you to contact Master Yoda and get him to reroute his ship over to us. Anyone further away, and we will be crushed by these boulders!” Luminara said urgently, sticking around as she waited for Shaak Ti’s confirmation. The Togruta opened her commlink.  
“I’m dialing him right now, hang in there.” Shaak Ti said. Luminara smiled and faded back to Ilum.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one took so long, I was distracted with a lot of outside stuff.


	4. Ilum 13:9:23 Evening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mostly one-sided tension between Barriss and Padme. Padme thinks Barriss is trying to steal Anakin from her. Yeah, I know this chapter is stupid.

After having gone through the chameleon droids in the plains of Ilum with the help of Naboo Senator Padme Amidala, Master Yoda finally arrived on the now destroyed Jedi Temple. The Tridactyl master was proud of the two Mirialans when he saw that their cave had held for three hours. It must have been several hundred tons of rocks on them, yet they managed to hold it up.  
“Worthy of the title of Jedi Knight, Barriss Offee is.” Yoda spoke aloud as he took away the first stones from the roof. Barriss and Luminara felt the weight they had to carry gradually decrease as the Tridactyl Grand Master tore their cave apart, though he did struggle to some degree with it. Not even 800 years of training will save a being from the fact that they’re trying to lift several tons of rock at once. Eventually, he managed to free them, though it was a very exhausting move. As the two felt that they were free, they got up and walked out in unison.  
“Master Luminara, Knight Barriss. Glad to see you alive, I am.” Yoda said, smiling. Barriss looked down at the grand master to make eye contact and smiled at him. Luminara simply continued to look off into the frigid distance. She had grown numb, and would have surely died of hypothermia by now were it not for the force.

“And I’m glad you came to rescue us, Master Yoda.” Barriss responded, walking with the Tridactyl Master until they came across a human woman with dark brown hair and a white fur coat.

“Who might she be?” Barriss asked, sensing that the woman in white had strong feelings for her friend, Anakin.

“I’m Senator Padme Amidala of Naboo, Mirialan.” Padme said coldly. Though they hadn’t even met before, Barriss could tell that the senator was upset with her over… something…

“Um, well. It’s an honor to meet you, Senator Amidala.” Barriss said, trying to be friendly to the woman. But from what she had heard, the humans of Naboo were particularly elitist, so she knew it would ultimately be an uphill battle. Luminara held her arms, shivering. She did not have a cloak made of the same material as her student.

“Indeed… You’re Barriss, right? Master Yoda said you’re the student to this woman, Luminara.” Padme said, hoping to end the conversation with this separatist sleeper agent alien sooner rather than later. 

“That is correct, Senator.” Barriss shot a playful glare at Yoda. Apparently, Master Yoda had left out the fact that she’s Luminara’s former student.

“Forgotten an important detail, have I?” Yoda asked, laughing as the four walked towards Padme’s ship. Barriss simply rolled her eyes as the shiny silver ship revealed itself among the pouring snows of Ilum. The destruction of that temple had weakened the light side on this planet. 

The group finally arrived on Padme’s cruiser, and the senator was the first to board. Followed by Yoda, Luminara, Barriss, and the droids. The interior was very luxurious, with room for ten individuals. This was because it was inherited from Padme’s time as queen before the clone wars. So, there was plenty of accommodation for “her” handmaidens, whom she would usually disguise herself among so as to survive assassination attempts. Yoda went back to his meditation chambers, while Luminara went to take a nap. This left Barriss and Padme alone with each other.  
“So, I sensed that you have quite strong feelings for Anakin Skywalker?” Barriss said, breaking a long and awkward silence as the Naboo and Mirialan women sat opposite of each other.  
“Yeah… yeah… he’s, um…” Padme was starting to sweat. She didn’t know what to say. Would she let this Jedi go around telling her Jedi friends Ani’s secret? Sure. But if she didn’t know that Anakin was already taken by a human and wouldn’t lower himself down to alien levels… well she just may seduce him!

“Still shivering? I can get one of your droids to go brew you some tea.” Barriss said calmly. She had no romantic intentions with Anakin, never has and probably never will.

“They’re my droids on my ship.” Padme replied, defensively.

“Or I can do it myself, if you insist.” Barriss spoke as she got up. Padme shook her head.

“No, no. There’s no need for that… Barriss?” The senator said, gesturing for the Jedi to get down.  
“I’m not cold, just… well…” Padme paused, but Barriss could sense she was trying to hide something.

“If you’re close to Anakin, that’s good.” Barriss said, smiling.

“I.. uh… how did you…” It was as if a Loth-Cat had bitten the poor senator’s tongue, after Barriss figured out her secret.  
“Though I’m no mind reader, I was able to get a general idea of what you were feeling. More specifically, what you were feeling about my friend.” Barriss explained, trying to calm the senator.

“Well. Okay. Just I hope that you remember that Ani is my husband. You two are just going to be friends.” Padme said, slightly disgusted that her Ani would associate with an alien.  
Barriss had also managed to pick up on the senator’s bigotry. Though it was certainly to be expected of a rich human from Naboo, it did kind of disappoint her to know that people with such attitudes towards other species were allowed to be senators.  
“Senator, I can assure you that romance is forbidden for Jedi. Though your husband may not be quite as keen on these rules, I am…” Barriss said to senator Amidala, slightly disappointed about what she had sensed. Just then, the conversation between the two women was disrupted as Captain Panakah entered the room.

“Senator Amidala, we’ve just exited hyperspace over Ithor.” The Naboo soldier said.  
“Very well, Captain.” Padme said, walking to the bridge of the ship as she watched Ithor appear in front of her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're going to skip over the business on Ithor, unless popular demand dictates otherwise.


	5. Coruscant 13:9:30 Afternoon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barriss spends some time with her husband during a peaceful vacation day on Coruscant.

Barriss stepped out of the Ithorian corvette, having just landed in the Jedi Temple. After what had happened while they were on the forbidden surface of that planet – and how they managed to convince the people to let them leave, the Jedi Knight was certainly not looking forward to anymore surprises. She wanted to take this little vacation to relax before being sent back out into the gore museum that was her post as a healer in this war. As she parted ways from Luminara, who was now officially her former master, she was walking towards somewhere hidden in the temple. Looking both ways to make sure that she was almost alone, she smiled at the one man she had allowed to be with her here as she took down her cloak, revealing her hair.

“Looks like you’ve been rolling around in spores, haven’t you?” Tutso said before giving his wife a kiss. Barriss’ arms went up to hold her husband’s cheeks. Tutso looked down to see the bracelets around her arms. He let go of her upon seeing the bracelets.  
“These- I- you- knight?” Tutso said, stuttering in shock that his wife had finally caught up to him. Barriss chuckled at her husband’s confusion.  
“I’d appreciate if you used words, amato.” Barriss said, cheekishly. Tutso stood there, continuing to catch flies.  
“But yes, I have been knighted. As for the ‘rolling around in spores’ part, I was stranded on Ithor with a very racist senator.” Barriss said, thinking about the previous week. Tutso’s face was downcast.  
“Oh my… well whatever she said about you, it’s not true. I know that you’re beautiful and intelligent… and just overall a wonderful woman!” The man said, trying to reassure his wife.  
“I appreciate the compliments, amato. But Padme actually warmed up to me after I saved her life on the forbidden surface of that planet.” Barriss said, smiling about how she had turned that racist and convinced her to change her view on the universe.  
“Oh, well. You’ve always been a diplomat. Why you made such a good match for Master Luminara.” Tutso replied, proud of his wife. It amazed him why she wasn’t knighted before him. But still, better late than never.

The two kissed once more before pausing.  
“So, how will we celebrate your promotion?” Tutso asked, feeling for his wallet.  
“Nothing too lavish. How about just a nice trip around Coruscant?” Barriss replied.  
“Today?” Tutso asked, looking out for where the speeder terminal was.  
“Of course!” Barriss replied before grabbing her husband’s hand and walking out towards the speeder terminal. As the two walked through the Jedi Temple hangar, they eventually arrived on the spot where aircraft were stowed. Here, Barriss received a terrible headache.   
“aaaaua” The Mirialan knight groaned, holding her head in pain. Her husband, concerned, took her over to a nearby bench to ask what was wrong. But by doing so, he took her out of whatever the zone oppressed by whatever dark influence had gotten to her.   
“Barriss, are you alright?” Tutso asked, naturally concerned. As she was taken out of the hangar, however, she was suddenly healed.  
“Yeah. Just a flash headache, that’s all.” The healer said, diagnosing herself. From most people, this self-diagnosis would come with ten Craits worth of salt. But Barriss the healer was just about never wrong in her diagnoses. So Tutso simply smiled and gave his wife a light kiss.  
“Now come on, we’re going to be late for our speeder!” Tutso said as he picked Barriss up and they both continued towards the speeder terminal.   
“Of course, Amato.” Barriss said, having fully gone back to her normal self. 

The couple waited at the stop for their speederbus until it arrived and when it came, they got on board. As was tradition on Mirial, the woman was allowed to board, then five passengers came after her, and then her husband got onto the bus. As was also tradition, he paid four times what the last person to tip had paid – once double from himself and once double from his wife. Luckily, the seat next to Barriss was still open. So Tutso took it and relaxed for the ten-minute ride to the cinema.  
When they arrived at the cinema, the two checked in with the droid at the front and entered the theater. It was a documentary about the Seventh Battle of Ruusan, which ended the Jedi-Sith wars. Like many Republic Propaganda pieces, it was made by Davus Falnii. Barriss rolled her eyes when he saw that it was made by Falnii. Of course, she didn’t mind the work the Bothan did to convince the common people to side with the Republic. To be specific, she didn’t mind the results of his work. Matter of fact, it actually was his work that she minded, as most of it was highly inaccurate.   
As Barriss watched Falnii’s production, she couldn’t help but think about Den Dhur, the Sullustan she met on Drongar. Den Dhur wasn’t afraid to tell the truth about that murderer Phow Ji. Though nobody could replace Tutso Mara, Barriss did long to talk with Dhur again. That Sullustan, she reckoned, had the political wisdom of fifty Republic senators.   
Eventually, the movie ended, and Barriss left the theater with her husband. They made sure to pay a tip to the maintenance of the theater. As Barriss was waiting at the speederbus terminal to return to the Jedi Temple, her commlink ringed. She answered it and saw nobody but the Chancellor himself!  
“Chancellor, why do you give me the pleasure of speaking with you?” Barriss asked the Naboo politician.  
“I am summoning you to a personal meeting between just the two of us, my girl. Galaxies Opera House, 1630. Try not to be late.” The secret Sith Lord said.  
“I’ll be there not a second earlier or a minute later, sir.” Barriss replied to Uncle Palps. The comm ended, and the Mirialan turned to her husband.  
“Tutso, you’ll have to go back to the temple on your own. The Chancellor has summoned me for a meeting.” She said. Tutso nodded as they got on the speederbus. When it stopped at the Jedi temple, he got off and Barriss stayed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter took so long to get out. I honestly had no idea what to put here, but I'm sure what I've got is going to work fine.


	6. Coruscant 13:9:30 Evening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Palpatine tries to get Barriss to accept some of the Dark Side.

The speederbus made its way to the Galaxies Opera House. Looking around, Barriss noticed that the people around her were all fairly affluent, and could name a few senators. Riyo Chuchi, Onaconda Farr, and none other than the senator of the Mirialan Republican League Sandra deFino! Naturally, Barriss was pleased to meet the woman leading the fight against King Enriko’s radical regime. The problem? Barriss was so pleased to meet her that she couldn’t even form words. So, she simply sat in her seat and smiled.

  
Eventually, the speederbus arrived at the Opera House. Barriss was right behind all the senators, as the Jedi do serve the senate. She looked at the clock as she got out of the bus and realized she was almost late for the viewing with the Chancellor. Barriss cut through the line and went up to the gate keeper. The twi’lek was not at all amused by the Jedi’s lack of manners. He shook his head and asked.

  
“Miss Jedi, what seems to be the rush?”  
Barriss waved her hand to influence his thoughts.  
“I’m security, almost late for my rotation.” She said, feeling like a criminal as she carried out the deed. The twi’lek gatekeeper tried to resist Barriss’ spell, but was eventually taken over.  
“Oh, security? You’d better hurry up, then!” He said, opening the door frantically. Barriss nodded in gratitude before walking through.

  
After that reckless abuse of her force powers, Barriss realized it was still a fairly long way to the Chancellor’s private box in the Opera House. She had to run to get there, almost bumping into a mildly inebriated Besalisk. That would have certainly spiced up the young Mirialan’s day…

  
Having successfully avoided a confrontation with a four-armed drunk beast, Barriss stopped running and maintained a brisk walk towards the top of the Opera House. Finally, she arrived there and saw the Chancellor waiting patiently.

  
“Leave us.” Palpatine said. Barriss was confused. Was the kind old politician who had invited her to view the opera forgotten that he invited her? She was pondering if her healing powers could cure dementia until she saw Mas Amedda, Sly Moore, and the Senate Guards leaving Palpatine’s box while one of them invited her in. The young knight took the other seat to the right of Palpatine, leaving an empty seat in between them. Having caught her breath, Barriss now realized that she was absolutely parched. But she didn’t want to leave the man who she saw as an uncle hanging.

  
“Tell me, young Jedi Knight. Did you do anything to hasten your arrival here?” Palpatine asked, trying to prod a secret out of his creation. Barriss looked at him, slightly ashamed. Then at her feet. Then back at Palpatine.  
“Well, yeah, I ran. Almost got into a fight with an afforgato Besalisk because of it.” She said, telling only half the truth. Darth Sidious smiled as his possible future apprentice told a lie to advance her causes.  
“Well, bumping into someone while running in a crowded hallway isn’t really something to be ashamed of, yet you are ashamed.” Sidious said, smiling devilishly. The girl could be a powerful tool of the dark side, if only her husband could be taken out of the picture.

  
“How do you know that?” Barriss said, skeptical.  
She knew not to trust a majority of politicians, and Sheev Palpatine had to be in the good graces of a majority of politicians in order to be in the position he’s in now.  
“Well, it doesn’t take a Jedi to recognize your voice, or how you’re sweating. Or how about you looking down at the floor. Likewise, it also doesn’t take a Jedi to realize that you aren’t telling the full truth.” Sidious said as he pulled out a recording of Barriss mind tricking the security guard.  
Barriss was shocked that the most powerful man in the galaxy had caught her doing that. She hung her head in shame, and also fear. Would she be expelled from the Jedi Order? Worse? Before she could continue thinking about how ruined her future was, Palpatine spoke again.

  
“Why do you hide?” Darth Sidious asked, smiling. Barriss’ eyes watered slightly, she had just been knighted and now she threw it all down the trash!“Why are you ashamed of your superiority over other beings?” Sidious grilled. Before Barriss could respond, he doubled down on his interrogation.“Why do you hinder your power, let other, lesser beings keep you from doing what you want? Beings… like me?” At this point, Sidious knew who his next assassin, if not apprentice, would be.“I know what you want. I know what all beings in this cruel and unforgiving galaxy want, and that includes you, my girl. You. Crave. Power.” Barriss shrank back in fervent denial.“No! Never! I-I-I’m a Jedi! I train to advance my knowledge and better defend myself and others.” She shouted, almost in tears.“And what exactly do you have to gain from advancing your knowledge of the Force, if not power? If you learn how to better defend with a mere lightsaber, you learn how to better attack with it as well. Therefore, you learn how to exert more power!” Sidious gloated. Though he knew that it’d take the rest of the war to finally convince Barriss to dive into the well of power that is the Dark Side, he figured he’d at least get her to wade in its shallow depths. Feel that the water is warm, relaxing, feels like you always belonged there.

  
“Admit it, Barriss Offee, you want to take my place as the most important being in the galaxy. I dismissed my guards because I wanted to talk with you one-on-one. But with them gone, you still have your lightsaber. Use it! Strike me down and you will be a free woman.” The mention of being a free woman was a tempting offer to Barriss, who had been born a slave.  
“If I kill you, the Separatists will take over and I’ll be a traitor to the Republic and all my friends.” Barriss said before getting up.  
“But if you insist, here’s a little personal courtesy.” She told the old man, punching him in the gut before storming out of the Opera House. Quickly healing any pain he might have felt from the punch, Lord Sidious smiled and combined his fingertips as he sat back in his seat.

While the others around him came back to their spots, he knew that Barriss was most certainly a candidate for Dark Lady of the Sith. The anger of a Darth could be prodded out if one tried hard enough…


	7. Carida 13:10:12 Space

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our heroine takes over a Separatist dreadnaught and flirts with the Dark Side.

Barriss watched from the bridge of her Venator as the ship jumped out of hyperspace over Carida with fascination. For a moment, the beauty of the process distracted her from the debate at hand.  
“General, I do believe we were discussing military manners?” The greying human officer said, slightly raising his voice.  
“Oh, yes. As I explained to you earlier, these volunteers willingly exchanged their lives of comfort and oftentimes wealth to be jammed into a metal box and sent millions of lightyears away to their very possible deaths. What, other than being indoctrinated as soldiers of the Republic for their whole lives, motivates clone troopers to do so?” Barriss said, continuing her retort.  
“No amount of morale can possibly triumph over being trained one’s whole life for combat. Patriotic fervor doesn’t heal blaster wounds.” The officer replied, scornfully.  
“These men are fast learners. As to the healing blaster wounds part? That’s where I step in.” The general replied before putting on her helmet and getting up to go to the hangar.

  
After getting situated in her starfighter, Barriss was the first to fly out. Several Z-95 Headhunters piloted by volunteer soldiers trailed behind her. She Having now cleared the Venator, the Mirialan knight tapped her mic to speak with her squadron.  
“All wings report in.” Barriss ordered.  
“Black Leader standing by.” The Mon Calamari pilot Tayus Gann replied.  
“Black fifteen standing by.”  
“Black fourteen standing by.”  
All sixteen pilots of Black Squadron, personally selected by Barriss Offee, answered her call. She smiled and gave her next order.  
“Black seven, four, three, and eight, follow me. Everyone else, get two fighters on the friendly bombers. Your screens will show you who you’re escorting. May the Force be with you all.” Barriss said smiling as she piloted her fighter.

She was flying deep into the enemy fleet. As she passed over a CIS Munificent, ten vulture droids were deployed to chase her and her escort wing down. Fearing for the lives of the pilots protecting her, Barriss tapped her mic.  
“Vulture droids behind us! Destroy them before they can launch their saboteurs.” The General ordered. All the pilots nodded, though the rookie Pantoran Black Seven didn’t know what exactly she meant.  
“What are we to do, General?” Black Seven asked, trying to out maneuver the Vulture droids as he flew slightly out of formation.  
“Turn the ships around and open fire! Now!” Barriss barked impatiently. She was, for a moment, surprised that blue moron had even graduated flight school. She would conclude that he had rich family, but her thinking was interrupted as Zeefore wailed in protest of her sudden turn.  
“You’d rather be fending off buzz droids? Too bad! Now full throttle!” Barriss responded to her droid as she fired on the vultures, which she and her escort were not facing headfirst. As she charged, so did the others. The vulture droids had never anticipated this move, and simply fired their blasters forward. Barriss and her escort squad continued to fire, destroying all the droids directly in front of them in near perfect unison. But they weren’t entirely clear, as there were still five droids left.  
“It’ll be a while before we see those things again, now let’s get back to our target – that Providence.” Barriss said, turning her ship around to face the Providence-class Dreadnaught which the Separatists were using as a flagship. The four escort fighters trailed close behind her.

  
“You can let off those thrusters now, don’t want to spend all our sublight fuel. Not yet.” Barriss said calmly to her droid. The fighter slowed down to the same speed as the Z-95s behind it after having cleared the Munificent’s point-defense cannons. They were now a kilometer away from the nose of the Providence.  
“Zeefore, call Captain Pellaeon.” Barriss said. The R2 unit beeped in approval, before contacting the captain of the Acclamator that would staff the ship she was about to commandeer.  
“General, you’re calling me?” Captain Pellaeon said. He saluted, even though he knew the general couldn’t see him.  
“Captain, prepare your engineers to take over this ship. Get them on board when I give the signal.” The Jedi Knight said, now 0.75 kilometers away from the Providence.  
“As you wish, General Offee.” Pellaeon said before the conversation ended. As she was getting closer to the ship, she didn’t want the Separatists to suspect anything.  
“Well done, fan out and harass this ship until I take it over.” The General said, now only half a kilometer away from the Providence.  
“Copy that.” The pilots replied in unison before following the order that was given to them. Now, just a quarter of a kilometer away from the Providence, Barriss could only hope that she’d be able to turn the tide of this battle against the Confederates.  
There was little time to think before she arrived on the front nose of the Providence. This was the fun part. Upon noticing the lone Jedi fighter, all the point defense cannons on the Providence began opening fire. Apparently, its Neimoidian captain wanted to score himself an easy but important kill. But the Jedi had managed to outrun almost all of these guns, though her fighter was lightly scraped by one of the blasts, which would have lit the ship on fire were it not for Zeefore’s quickly extinguishing the embers of burnt armor.

  
“Thank you, Zeefore.” Barriss said as she dipped her ship down and to the side. The most important moment of this battle was in just a few seconds.  
“Eject!” She shouted, and was quickly ejected from her seat. Acting quickly and ensuring that the Neimoidians were too shocked to close the blast doors, Barriss ignited her saber and lightly tapped the transparasteel barrier with it, shattering it completely. The suited Jedi jumped in just as the blast doors were closing.

  
A young specialist in Soresu, Barriss deflected the security droids’ shots, except for one that hit her in the knee. Too busy taking over the ship to worry about a little pain, she concentrated her power in closing the door out of the bridge. Then, she sliced through a panicked Neimoidian engineer before deflecting more droid blasts straight into their source’s head.  
The Mirialan was silent throughout the whole deed. Though she knew that many of these men were unarmed, she also knew that allowing them to continue living and serving in the CIS Navy would only cause more deaths. Is one unarmed enemy truly worth the lives of a clone trooper? How about a thousand? She had come to the conclusion that no, it was not, as she transformed into a whirlwind of death in the Providence’s bridge. Before she knew it, only she and the admiral were left alive in the room.

  
“Stop! Mercy.” The Neimoidian admiral asked, somewhat confidently.  
“What? Mercy?” Barriss asked, raising her lightsaber.  
“Yes, mercy. Surely a Jedi padawan such as you wouldn’t dare commit such a callous act as kill a man who’s begging for mercy. Think about your master.” The Neimoidian said, sensing that he’d made a mistake. Barriss shook her head and deactivated her saber. Just as the Neimoidian thought he was safe, he felt himself being hoisted in the air as his throat constricted.  
“You don’t know the first thing about me.” Barriss said coldly as she force choked the Neimoidian admiral to death, insulted by his misranking her. When she was done, she threw his lifeless body to the side like a child discards a toy that has begun to bore them.

  
Having killed every last being in the bridge, Barriss contacted Pellaeon to tell him to bring his engineers onto the ship. As the gunships, under heavy escort, made their way to the Providence, Barriss couldn’t help but regret what she had done. Her commlink began to ring. It was Master Luminara. She picked it up.  
“Master?” Barriss said, trying to hide the sorrow in her voice. Eventually, a clear signal was established.  
“Hello, old student. Pellaeon has told me that you’ve been having a bit of trouble with the Separatist fleet. So I’ve decided to come and help.” Luminara replied, smiling. She had a surprise for Barriss, but wasn’t quite going to reveal it yet.  
“Thank you, master. But we’ve just defeated the leader of their fleet. Should I begin moving my forces to the ground?” Barriss replied. Luminara was shocked, though she shouldn’t be. Her student had never failed to impress her as a padawan, so why would she start as a knight?  
“Yes, go ahead. I’ll meet you on the surface.” Luminara replied, ending the conversation.

The surface would be Barriss’ next priority. She sighed, as getting down there would probably be easier than getting onto the bridge of this ship.


End file.
